Views of the Chesapeake Bay in East Ocean View and easy access to the beach are key amenities and selling points for people who reside in or visit the neighborhood. A long list of development projects are slated to begin in Ocean View in 2019.

New year will bring major redevelopment to Ocean View

Views of the Chesapeake Bay in East Ocean View and easy access to the beach are key amenities and selling points for people who reside in or visit the neighborhood. A long list of development projects are slated to begin in Ocean View in 2019.

A wave of residential and retail development will continue to reshape Ocean View in 2019.

Civic league and city leaders who represent the neighborhoods around the bay beachfront in Norfolk say private interest and investment in the projects positions Ocean View for steady and unprecedented long-term economic growth.

“We believe the city recognizes the 7.5 miles of waterfront in Ocean View and Willoughby as their ‘Gold Coast’ and are supporting development accordingly,” Ann Bolen, president of the East Ocean View Civic League, stated in an email. “The tax base in Ocean View has changed dramatically in the past 10 years and development continues at a fast pace.”

According to Norfolk City Councilman Tommy Smigiel, some of the projects that are under way or proposed include:

Developer Buddy Gadams of Norfolk-basedMarathon Development Group has purchased Bay Point Marina. A complete redevelopment is planned and will include 17 beach cottage-style residences, a marina upgrade, a new Surf Rider restaurant and a new clubhouse with pool.

Gadams also bought Little Creek Marina, which was then sold to Virginia Beach-based Bonaventure Realty Group; plans call for building 133 senior apartments.

COVA Brewing Co. has purchased a former auto repair garage at 9529 Shore Drive in the East Beach area; opening is expected in the spring.

Virginia Beach-based EDC Homes plans to build 96 townhomes across from East Beach along with converting existing space into 15,000 square feet of retail.

Dimitri Hionis, owner of the Lesner Inn, The Shellfish Company and Bubba’s Seafood Restaurant in Virginia Beach, plans to redevelop the former Surf Rider building with a first floor eatery and an event hall on the second floor. Hionis also is working on plans to open a restaurant at the former Mac’s Place on the Bay space in the 4100 block of Ocean View Avenue.

An early stage project at the former M Star hotel location at 7950 Shore Drive calls for 88 market-rate apartments with retail on the first level; 18 units would cost about $1,400 a month.

The Aviation Institute of Maintenance has the former Calvary Christian School property at 2331 E. Little Creek Road under contract with plans to expand its aviation maintenance school that trains FAA licensed aircraft mechanics.

The city also has the Beach Pub at 1010 E. Ocean View Ave., along with an apartment building next door, under contract. Along with the Ocean View Diner, the buildings will eventually be razed.

“One of the problems we have in Ocean View is we have a lot of water and not people, so bringing right-sized density,” is key, said Smigiel, who represents the city’s Ward 5. “You don’t want to overdevelop – but we still need the bodies there to bring the income so we can support some additional retail.”

There were 261 active building permits in Ward 5 in November, according to information provided by the city. Smigiel compiled the development project list and led a neighborhood tour early this month with elected officials, economic and business leaders.

Neighborhood evolution

As the new comes in, the old fades away.

Demolition of Greenies, a bar and restaurant with decades of history in Ocean View, began Dec. 17.

The city already owns the land on both sides of the Greenies property but “we really couldn’t do anything with that property because Greenies was kind of right there in the middle of it,” Smigiel said. With city control of the entire tract of land, “we’ll be able to look at a bigger picture there.”

That picture might include a new restaurant or an extension of the Ocean View Beach Park. A community conversation is planned in the coming months, on a date to be announced, to solicit feedback on what residents would like to see there.

“It’s sad that Greenies is going, but Greenies had not done any upgrading,” said Linda Miller, president of the Ocean View Civic League. “It is the very first thing anybody sees when they come down First View at the intersection of First View and Ocean View Avenue.”

Miller acknowledged neighborhood development is a long game and changes don’t happen overnight. Getting involved in civic leagues, she added, gives people firsthand insight and a voice into decisions that affect neighborhoods evolution.

“As a civic leader as well as a resident here, I support what’s going on as far as changes,” Miller said. “Nothing in this city is accomplished in two or three years,” But, she said, “everybody wants things right now.”

Bolen echoed that sentiment.

“The removal of buildings like Greenies that have existed way past their economic life is good business,” she said.

The 100-year-old building at 196 W. Ocean View Ave. that housed Greenies was constructed in 1918, according to city records. It cost Norfolk $41,995 to tear it down, according to city spokeswoman Lori Crouch.

“Ocean View needed to grow our economic base and rooftops before businesses were willing to gamble on the area. We believe we have reached a tipping point and this seems supported by the influx of residential and commercial development that is on the drawing board or in planning at this time,” Bolen said.

Jared Chalk, Norfolk’s interim director of development, said the redevelopment spark that ignited in East Beach is now spreading throughout Ocean View.

East Beach, he said, “served as a model for what we wanted to replicate across Ocean View,” Chalk said. “Too much density can turn people off,” he continued. “Quality density (and) place making is something that we’re interested in.”

As redevelopment energy continues to rise, the Willoughby Civic League is focused on maintaining its existing neighborhood density. The league has identified properties “that we are working with the city and NRHA to purchase and then redevelop into owner-occupied dwellings,” league president Don Musacchio stated in an email.

Musacchio also is chairman of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s board of commissioners but said he offered the comment in his civic leadership capacity.

In some parts of Ocean View though, density poses a different kind of challenge.

Miller said one of the most significant economic considerations for her civic league are development restrictions related to the Air Installations Compatible Use Zone for the Navy’s Chambers Field at nearby Naval Station Norfolk. The restrictions set property use criteria with the intent of maintaining safety and limiting development that could jeopardize airfield operations.

Miller offered an example: A video rental store formerly operated at one end of the Ocean View Shopping Center formerly anchored by Farm Fresh. (A Harris Teeter is slated to replace it in the summer.) According to the guidelines, a similar type of business has to occupy that space. But since video rental store closings are outpacing openings, Miller said finding the right type of business for that spot is challenging.

“The navy and the city of Norfolk needs to evaluate the (restrictions) to allow this particular area to have a little bit of growth, like East Beach, like Cottage Line,” she said.

Chalk said the city is striving for development balance between existing and new construction.

“You’ve got to pay attention to those neighborhoods that are in between these place-making opportunities and make sure that the framework and fabric of those neighborhoods don’t change,” Chalk said. “Not every neighborhood needs to be redeveloped. And Ocean View is one of those areas that has some very quality homes and some great spaces, great pedestrian access, and the city, what we look to do, is enhance areas of opportunity.”

The federal government also sees opportunity. East Ocean View is a designated Opportunity Zone. It’s one of many in Hampton Roads and statewide.

Economic investments in such zones may qualify for tax incentives. The zones, Chalk said, are “not really just for big investors – certainly the big investors are going to use it – but it’s for startups, for small businesses, for small developers, for home builders to really allocate their resources in communities so that they get a tax break.”

At the end of the day, Smigiel said they want development to flourish without changing the neighborhood’s coastal, residential character.

“Some of this (development) you know, we don’t have control over,” the councilman said. “If people want to develop, they can develop. But none of this development takes away from the traditional Ocean View that I know and celebrate. We have very strong neighborhoods and communities in Ocean View.”

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